


hanakotoba

by castellowrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Fluff and Crack, Language of Flowers, M/M, Mystery, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-02 15:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8672338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castellowrites/pseuds/castellowrites
Summary: Trust Keith to turn a subtle confession of love into a crime / mystery.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **disclaimer:** i'm no flower expert so i might be wrong with the meanings of flowers and shizz?? anyway i relied on the internet for information, so do feel free to correct me ohohoho.
> 
> p.s. it's already 12 am and i have to get up early for work so this is unbeta'd. all mistakes are mine. also, thank you so much for clicking on this!

The office doesn’t seem to be in any jeopardy; everything is surprisingly clean to a disturbing degree (is he even getting any work done at all here?), nothing remotely weird is visible (save for the giant stuffed Bellsprout Keith is adamant on keeping in the corner of his otherwise elegant workspace), nor anything amiss can be detected – or at least nothing that only the exception of the occupant himself can ever notice.

Light bouncing off the high rise building opposite theirs fills the small room with a bright glow, but the light seems to end where Keith’s face begins; dramatic shadows are cast on his handsome features, shrouding him with an almost believable mysterious aura of a deeply focused detective running equations and connecting even the tiniest of details in his mind.

It’s true, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. Except there’s a small pot of flowers – the fourth one this week – sitting on his wide desk.

There’s no doubt about it – there can only be one conclusion to be drawn from this scenario.

“This office has just been the stage of an attempted robbery.”

No one dares to speak. Keith suspects everyone is appalled by his deductions, or the cool way in which he spoke.

Behind him, Allura’s hand flies up to massage her temples. It’s only 10AM, and she already feels a third migraine coming along.

“ _This_ is why you’re late for the meeting that I scheduled half an hour ago?” She arches an eyebrow, taps a heeled foot on the carpeted floor. The murderous intent seeping off her is so thick that Lance swears a real crime will definitely be committed right here.

As if utterly oblivious to the immediate threat to his health and well-being, Keith walks over to a nearby shelf, runs a slender finger on the smooth wooden surface. Without preamble, he gasps, takes a couple of steps back in what Pidge thinks of as unnecessarily exaggerated incredulity and horror.

“What is it?” Hunk says. He’s genuinely concerned, but he’s also unable to contain the slight excitement in his voice. Maybe this time, Keith wasn’t being paranoid about a thief actually entering his office.

“That bastard—!” Keith seethes through gritted teeth as he holds his fist in the air. Again with the unnecessary dramatic flare, but it works as ample entertainment for Pidge. Always trust Keith to be transparent because he apparently didn’t learn the art of filtering feelings. “The nerve—that perp even went so far as to clean my shelf. It’s so spotless, the polished wood is as reflective as a mirror!”

Everyone is silent. In the distance, pigeons are flying outside the window and people are having coffee while they actually get shit done because they’re not dragged by a single employee who chose to be this hysterical in the morning.

“Really, Keith?” Lance chimes in, mirroring Allura’s annoyed pose. “ _That’s_ what got you?”

“… Please don’t do such misleading things ever again,” Pidge says, totally deadpan, yet Lance can tell she’s as disappointed as the rest of them that there wasn’t any real crime at all.

“Maybe this is just another case of the _flirt and run_ ,” Coran volunteers from behind Allura. Everyone, save the pissed off boss lady, nods and mutters their agreement.

“No, this has been an attempted _robbery_ ,” Keith turns on his shiny Ferragamo shoes to face them all, exasperated. “Weren’t you all even listening to what I just said?”

Everyone’s either smiling awkwardly or narrowing their eyes at him (that’s Pidge and Lance). Allura looks like she’s going to burn a building or two.

“You don’t believe me?” Keith says, stalks over to his desk to pull out a pair of disposable surgical gloves no one dares to ask why he even has, and takes the foreign and offending article – the pot of flowers – to let everyone have a closer look. “This is _clear evidence_ of attempted theft.”

Pidge is the first one to voice out her observations. “Like the others, no card was left to leave a clue of the sender.”

“It’s a different one today, eh?” Coran chimes in. “Never the same kind twice! Must have taken some time and effort looking for these tiny precious things.”

“I still don’t get why you would equate someone secretly leaving you flowers with robbery,” Hunk says, still studying the six small stalks of white and pink.

“ _Attempted_ robbery,” Keith says, adamant on his self-established facts.

“Now why would the perp ‘ _attempt’_ to steal something from you for four consecutive times? That doesn’t make any sense!” Lance rolls his eyes.

 “Just get to the point so that we can finish this and start with our meeting,” Allura says before Keith can make a move to strangle his coworker.

“Right,” he says, clears his throat. He walks to stand apart from them, looks out the window as if in deep contemplation before assuming a thinking pose. Pidge blankly remembers that this is a guy who watches too much anime during his free time. “You probably thought I spent the entire time inspecting my office once I found the flowers on my desk after taking a power nap from 7:00AM-9:45AM—”

A shadow moves – Coran and Hunk both automatically act to restrain Allura from tearing Keith a new one.

“—in which case, you’re all absolutely right—”

Pidge and Lance join in the struggle by hugging her legs and keeping her stilettos outside of kicking range. Keith deserves whatever Boss Lady’s about to do to him, but they couldn’t resist watching this show ‘til the end.

“—except what you probably didn’t anticipate was that I also did some research on the flowers,” Keith finishes, looking a bit smug about his revelation, which no one is really impressed with. “The first evidence was a small pot of Gloxinia, followed by Periwinkles, Amaryllis, and today, the latest ones – Arbutus.”

Keith removes his gaze from the window and turns to regard them, feels the (nonexistent) anticipation building up like tetris blocks in that damn computer game he just can’t seem to figure out.

“Within the few minutes before you all got here to examine the scene of the crime with me—”

“Nope, we weren’t doing that.”

“That wasn’t our intention at all.”

“—I found out the meaning of each of those flowers left by our perp,” Keith says as he walks over to the decorative coffee table in the middle of his office where the ‘evidences’ are. “Gloxonia tells of love at first sight – telling me that whatever item it is the thief wants, they’ve desired it the moment they laid eyes on it.”

“… I think you may be interpreting this the wrong way—” Hunk says, but Lance is quick to signal him to be quiet. _Just let him make a complete fool of himself_ , his eyes are saying.

“Next, the periwinkles,” Keith continues, caressing the lavender and blue petals with a gloved hand. “ _‘My heart was mine until we met’_ – obviously this perp is easily tempted with material things. Their heart is corrupted. I can’t choose whether to pity them or condemn them for their attempted crime.”

A comedy and a mystery, with a dash of maybe tragic romance – Pidge never knew she was in need of this kind of drama.

“Amaryllis – _I must have you_ ,” Keith says. “I don’t think I have to explain _that_.”

“Nope, not at all,” Coran, Lance, Pidge and Hunk say in unison. Beside them, Allura’s definitely getting a migraine.

“And this one, the Arbutus,” Keith says, bringing the potted plant back up to show to his boss and colleagues. “According to a very reliable source on the internet, it conveys the message _‘Please be mine’_. And who do you think says such bold and selfish statements like that?”

“Ooh, pick me,” Pidge says as she raises her hand in staged excitement. “A secret admirer who stays or works in this building, perhaps?”

“A shy person who doesn’t want to be too straightforward and therefore communicates anonymously with flowers?” Hunk ventures.

“A respectable person whose brain turns to jelly when it comes to you and surprisingly made the mistake of thinking that an idiot can understand the already blatant professions of love disguised in potted plants?” Lance says, shocking everyone with his deep understanding of things.

“What?” Keith makes a face akin to a kindergarten teacher who found out half of his class simultaneously pooped their pants. “It’s a _robber_ you guys! Only a thief would have such possessive sentiments. Haven’t you been paying close attention to my train of thought at all?”

“That’s not a train anyone would want to hop into,” Pidge deadpans.

“Keith, sometimes I wonder why I made you the head of sales,” Allura sinks into the couch, overwhelmed by the idiocy heavy in the atmosphere. “I can’t take this anymore. Time is money, and we’ve already wasted a ton of it. Someone _please_ go get Shiro.”

“On it, boss,” Hunk says, and skips out of the room.

“The head of security?” Now it’s Keith’s turn to arch an eyebrow, but the idea immediately forms in his mind. “Of course! If there were any suspicious individuals, Shiro would have noticed. Or the perp could have stolen a copy of the key to this office that only Shiro has! We’ve got to warn him.”

Pidge sighs and secretly hopes that her blank unimpressed stare can drill some sense into Keith, but he’s dense as fuck and not even her daggers of understanding can threaten his brain cells to arrive at an understanding.

“Aw, man, we’re playing this card already?” Lance whines and slumps into the couch next to his boss. “And I thought we could’ve pulled this for much longer.”

“I can’t let this elaborate yet undeniably heartfelt courting be the downfall of the company,” Allura sighs to the ceiling, where none of the answers ever are. “Let’s just hope these idiots can finally get to the bottom of things.”

“Keith, haven’t you ever considered that maybe the only other person who has the key to your office could be the one who’s leaving you flowers?” Coran says.

“What are you guys talking about?” Keith says, folding his arms. “We all know Shiro, and he’s not a thief. He’s someone who works in the same building, a quiet yet hardworking soul and a respectable person who may stutter and sweat a lot and whose face burns up even in the winter, but a noble security guard nonetheless.”

“That’s funny, I’ve never heard him stuttering,” Coran says, scratching his beard.

“That guy’s like the epitome of composure and amity,” Lance chimes in, a playful and knowing look on his face that’s most likely meant to piss someone off. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Shiro here? Totally ripped head of security who may or may not be a toothpaste commercial model in uniform who greets us all in the morning and before we leave at closing time?”

“Seriously?” Now Keith seriously looks appalled. “How come he never seems to look me in the eye?”

Before Keith can follow up with a few more questions, Hunk comes back with Shiro in tow.

“He’s here, boss,” he says to Allura, who sighs heavily and stands up from the couch.

“Thank you, Hunk.” She thanks their IT guy and signals for the others to leave the room.

“Good morning, ma’am,” Shiro says from outside the door, a hand cupping his garrison cap to his broad chest as he makes a slight bow. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Amiable and composed is right – there’s no evidence of the man who can’t even say a simple “ _Hello_ ” to Keith whenever he arrives at the lobby for work.

“Yes and no,” Allura says, cradling her head in her fingers as she walks out the door. “There has been a ‘ _crime’_ here in this office. I need you to stay here with Kogane and investigate.”

“A crime—Wait—S-stay here?” Oh, there he is. “W-w-with…?”

He doesn’t even finish his sentence at all, his seemingly chronic fever kicking in and stealing his breath.

“Take it easy on him, will ya, Keith?” Lance says, that mischievous grin still plastered on his face.

“What are you talking about? Why would I ever go hard on Shiro?”

“There it is,” Pidge says as she walks past him, satisfied. “Finally we got him to say _‘hard on’_ and _‘Shiro’_ in the same sentence.”

“Why is everyone talking in riddles?” Keith says, exasperated.

“Come on man, you love solving mysteries, right?” Hunk says, and Keith wonders if he should be concerned with the wide smile his colleagues just gave him before piling out the door.

Once they’re all out, only the scent of flowers and the cloud of mystery remain. Also a fidgeting Shiro, who seems too interested in the carpet, standing awkwardly by the door.

Well, better start the investigation – if Keith wastes any more time, Allura just might shove the pots up his ass. That, and he kind of maybe wants to see that smile Shiro allegedly gives everyone at work. He clears his throat, walks over to stand closer to Shiro by the wooden door frame.

“So, this office has just been the stage of an attempted robbery.”


	2. Chapter 2

Was that a snarl or a really threatening smile? Anyways, when it comes to this other security guard, a glare(?) and a nod is what counts as a friendly greeting.

At least this Sendak guy looks Keith in the eye in acknowledgement of his presence when he comes up the stone steps leading to the company. On the other hand, his smaller-than-him-yet-undeniably-buff partner always avoids his eyes and tips his hat off to the floor, as if the cold stone surface deserves much more respect than Keith in his opinion.

Today, however, it’s a levelled up version of evasion – Shiro literally _ran_ inside the building once he saw the head of sales approaching.

 _What the heck? I thought we bonded!_ Keith thinks as Shiro disappears behind the revolving glass doors.

They _did_ bond – Keith might have done all the talking in his office and Shiro might have never left his spot by the door nor his eyes leave the carpet, and he might have only said a barely audible “I-I’ll see what I can do” before leaving – but they spent time alone within each other’s space, and that counts for bonding, doesn’t it?

So maybe Keith isn’t a Hunk who easily gets along with everyone, or a Lance who is sociable and never runs out of topics (himself) to engage other people in conversation with, but just – what is so wrong with him that their friendly and approachable head of security refuses to even simply return his look?

Is it his perfume? Is it the mullet? Should he have stopped using that really fruity citrus soap? Maybe Shiro’s allergic to his fabric conditioner? Is it because Keith blends regular toothpaste with the kiddy bubblegum-flavored one when he brushes his teeth? Why does he even let these little uncertainties bother him?

It somehow feels like some sort of rejection – but from what exactly?

Then, footsteps – Keith looks up from where he’s blankly staring at his Ferragamos to see Shiro running back outside, something big and bulky in his hands.

Suddenly there are questions wanting to spill from his lips as Shiro makes his way closer to where he’s glued on the stone steps—

_Why don’t you ever look at me?_

_Have I done anything to upset or offend you?_

_How is it that I only rarely hear your voice?_

_Why do you have a bouquet of roses in your hands and why are you giving them to me—_

 

_Oh._

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was only really meant to be a oneshot, but then the image of security guard shiro in a black uniform and garrison hat with a bouquet of roses in his hands invaded my mind, and i would not be put to rest unless i wrote it so there
> 
> thank you so much for reading this! much love xoxo


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